A Song For EllaThe moon was full and had climbed so high, stained with silver and despairIts light reflecting off your artic skin, as it wandered through your auburn hairAnd the wind is jealous of your voiceThe story flowed through your vein of love down to the emptiness on your left handForget-me-nots caressed your soles, as you made your way across the broken strandAnd the sea is jealous of your tearsAnd though I find no sanctuary, I can always dream my way back to youIn so many varied, tainted themes, of those first 8 letters that I wrote you true, And I am jealous of your worldThough I still might search in the crowd, for the scent of your perfumeAs rumours spread like a mountain brushwood fire, ah the brittle fate of me and youAnd I am jealous of your worldAnd I am jealous of your world

Build My Gallows HighBuild my gallows high, don’t leave me hangingBuild my gallows high, don’t leave me hangingFill the auditorium, with the faithful, weak and the brave Fill it with false, religious men; let them pray my soul to saveFill it with my enemies, their friends and my accusersStack the bastards 10 rows deep; let them stand by my abusersBuild my gallows high, don’t leave me hangingBuild my gallows high, don’t leave me hangingLet them fill their bellies with exotic meats, earth apples, rice and quinces Let them through to the vomitorium, as my body writhes and wincesLet the ligature around my neck, be true and do its jobAs the Long Drop waits, my final act, to entertain this heartless mobBuild my gallows high, don’t leave me hangingBuild my gallows high, don’t leave me hangingBring on the midget fanfare; bring on the coloured dancing girls andThe heathens from the colonies; that you stole from the new worldBring my friends and my acquaintances and my surviving sister dearLet them see the point you make of me, pay homage to your fearBuild my gallows high, don’t leave me hangingBuild my gallows high, don’t leave me hangingSave a seat for the money lenders, and save one for my landlordSave some cheap seats for the down on luck, it’s all they can afford“Save me God” I would shout out, if I believed that it was soAnd if there is a devil, in passing I will tell him that you mother-******** say “hello”Build my gallows high, don’t leave me hangingBuild my gallows high, don’t leave me hanging don’t leave me hanging here alivedon’t leave me hanging here alive

DAVID CONTEMPLATEDWell they went to war without him David swears that’s why he is still hereHe had broken his fall from lonesome heightsSo many times he’d lost the fearJudith’s Gucci watch was a fairground fakeAnd her locket kept the ghosts out of siteHe was so charming; h’d been to capital cityShe took a risk to get things rightSome of us are born into things, some of us are pulled by stringsShe took a ride with the killer inside, no longer will the caged bird singRachel wore burlesque red under a sailor blue sky And her eyes were Irish greenIt was happy hour at the Baltimore caféHe was the sensitiv’ist guy she’d ever seenThey played roshambo till the break of the morningJust a nights chance to start anewShe thought to herself “well I ain’t no saint,but I’m good enough for you”David found himself with a Bowie knife, Rachel had a prayer on a wingShe took a ride with the killer inside, no longer will the caged bird singThey’re not old enough to look that miserable, David contemplated that nightHe'd been keeping it real, since he began to feel, They drove to the woods and out of sightSome of us are born into things, some of us are pulled by stringsShe took a ride with the killer inside, no longer will the caged bird sing

DARWIN’S NIGHTMAREDarwin's nightmare came to town, he's gonna take care of us allGave us the word on how it it's, and introduced us to the fallHe leered with myopic, blood soaked eyes and told us we were freeSaid “This world has a plan, now do what I say's or I'll nail you to the Butcher's tree”Another nightmare makes its way through historyHe said "Once upon a time I was Romulus, but today I'll be like CainI'll crash right through your peace and love, just to see what I can gain" "Though my mamma was tough, she had no choice, she was just 16When they pillaged the homestead and raped them all, just to keep them keen"Another nightmare makes it’s way down from your family treeHe dropped a predator-that-perched in the land locked lake, 'cause he thought it might look goodIt killed most of the others with no regard, like its programme said it should "I've seen off so many Alpha males", he said, "you're gonna want to run for cover";'Cause I'll do you in, this rarefied air, just like I did my brotherAnother nightmare makes it's way down from your family treeVirgins pleaded for humanity, not knowing what he could show themThey hid their shame with sullied hands, as he drank from a JeroboamHe bathed his fingers in the water clear, but then from the part that was muddyThe predator fish caught him by the throat and didn't stop till the pool was bloodyAnother nightmare makes it's way down from your family treeThe truly hungry will eat most things; some even eat the ones they suckled onSome don't need fed but they’ll rip the flesh and taste it just for fun And it's hard to know whose fault it is, is it God or Man or ScienceIf you feel no guilt for what you've done you may be hanging on your own reliance

DOWN BY LAWWell I’m gonna miss my baby 'cause i couldn't make bailI don't like the kind of loving that a man can get in jailI'm sure tomorrow morning, I’ll set the world to rightTell the judge of the occurrences, of a certain Friday nightLibation was the SOP, you honour, as I recallJohn Hennessy, the mule and me, and my baby walking tallAbout a 1/4 from the bottom end of the sundial turning nineA killer looking mother feels he don’t need to stand in lineNow words were spoken -you know the kind of stuff you sayAs I leaned to touch my baby's face his chin got in the wayI'm told I leaned over several times, before noticing he was thereBut all the lights and noise can affect one's senses to be fairNow the cops they took my wallet and they even took the muleSome glossies and my fingerprints and a statement on the duelI enquired about their vacancies, and the condition of his jawThey showed me to my single room and said "son, you’re down by law"Down by law, down by lawI’m gonna miss your birthday ‘cause I’m down by lawDown by law, down by lawI’m gonna miss Christmas ‘cause I’m down by lawI’m down by law, down by lawGonna miss Easter ‘cause I’m down by lawI’m down by law, down by lawGonna miss you baby ‘because I’m down by law6 months behind the railings I’ve got nothing left to proveI’ve got the voice of Morgan Freeman narrating every moveDown by law, down by law

HING HANG HUNG“Ladies and GentlemenMein Dames und HerenWelcome to the event of the autumn.Bring you’re kids, bring your wife,Watch as we take this bastards life.We have discounts for old age pensioners, And veterans of popular wars.The buffet car is open until nine.” Hing Hang HungSee what the hangman doneHang Hung HingSee the bastard swingHing Hang Hung

IT'S ALL GOODVoyce Truspoon and Zelda Pillgood made a pact. Gonna make some changes by Christmas, or the new year, it's a fact.Bought things for the poor and the needy, Gave a worthy houseless couple their homePut the gas bill in credit and cancelled the holiday,Just before their mouths began to foamIt's all good, It's all good, It's was all goodTell their friends and family.Ambrose Eberthardt had some shrapnel in his body from the warHis stories 'bout the sinking of the Bismarck didn't matter any moreHe walked the promenade and bought some rope, it was flotsam from some aged wreckAnd to half an anchor , tied a sea dog knot, and then he drowned him by the neck It's all good, It's all good, It's was all goodTell his friends and familyIris Zachfell was a wheel in the office where he spent most of his time, time, time, timeHe gambled in the morning but couldn't make it up before the End of Trading chimeThe people near the windows of the floors below, well some of them just never understood…Completely, what he muttered as he passed them on his way, he was heard to say "So far so good"It's all good it's all good it's all goodIt's all good, It's all good, It's was all goodTell his friends and family.

IT’S NOT USLet's take it from the soil, be it diamonds, be it oilIt's always someone else’s toil, not oursAmos digs the stone, or for Coltan for cell phones,Works his fingers to the bone, not oursIt’s not us, it’s not us, it’s not us We’ll give them back the mine once the coppers nearly dry Let the public have a cry and make donations on the TVConscience is a fling, and though sometimes you’ll hear it ringIt doesn't have to mean a thing, unless you let itIt’s not us, it’s not us, it’s not us To show the world we care, give them logo’d shirts to wearBuild a well here and there...but there’re no pennies to throw intoTry to understand we're just giving them a handIf they keep using our brand, they'll be as good as usIt’s not us, it’s not us, its not us I don't know why they moan; sure we gave them all those loansBuilt the powerful their homes and now we own themSo we sit here in our world, with new curtains to unfurlWhile our cities steal their girls...and think it’s terrible

Marcus Ward I’m living sociable hours of the unemployedIn a ghetto slum most of the sane would avoidBut once upon a time I was a feudal lordYou know I used to own a penthouse on Marcus WardI went out every other hour just doing what I pleaseAll the people hanging ‘round me getting on their kneesI was the local tycoon, I was their Henry FordWhen I used to have my penthouse down on Marcus WardI had redheads and dirty blondes and caramel brownsI was a Playboy wheel in this goddamn townNot a night went by when I never scoredIt was a party looking down from up on Marcus WardMy Chryslers were imported; they were top of the range I would tip the valets ponies; I’d treat a ransom like small changeThe soundtrack to my life was all in major chordsPlayed through 40inch speakers down on Marcus WardI’d take a notion and I’d trip on down to DizzylandThe foreign angels and the locals all reaching for my handThey may have left me lying bleeding, once the booze was all pouredJust part of the price, living on Marcus WardI took my eye off the game as the weather turnedI got my pockets emptied and my fingertips burnedBut I can still see it, the old Monopoly boardAnd the life I used to lead down on Marcus Ward

RENDITIONThree-quarters past the witching hour, on a jaded hotel bedFrom a fantasy of make believe, to cold steel against my headMy tongue was stayed with duck tape, ears filled up with dinMy feet were bound as were my hands, and then it all went dimI woke up in a concrete room, with the stench of blood and fearVomit, piss and vinegar and the glare of a glass chandelierMy naked skin was bruised and broken and my hair drenched claret redAs I tried to recall the minute details of a life I never ledThey whipped me with electricity as my fingernails declinedI begged for mercy in innocence, and for my life I whined Cruel and unusual punishment increased as my answers became fewerAlmost drowning me in an inch of water as if I was the greatest wrongdoerThen a man and a woman, one good one bad, they said that they could possibly help meAs i sipped and spilled from a Styrofoam cup filled with some kind of herbal tea He was short but nicely spoken; he had one eye made of glassShe was kind of tall, from a broken trailer, had a lisp and a big fat assShe sneered at me and threatened my wife and threatened my young children“Fu*k you” I slurred, and 'fu*k your caravan and all that you believe in'I was beaten to retraction, as the glass eyed man just laughedAs she lit his 13th smoke & made a joke about being overstaffedWhat's in name they asked, as they told me what they wanted to hearSniggering and taking the piss they let it slip 'bout the man who sent me hereDue to this outsourced, special removal, I had even contemplated prayerBut now I have a name on which to take revenge and so I see with a 1000 yard stare

SIT DOWN ROBERTWell I passed by where you're staying at the quarter to eight When the clouds were sinking low I called past your house, as a matter of fact, As if there's nowhere better to go And then I took a walk through your neighbourhood just Just awaiting for you to come home I cashed a cheque and I misspelled my name As I searched in my jacket for my comb And you said Sit down Robert and I'll make you some tea I'll Irish up the earl grey if you sit by me Tell me 'bout your troubles and the things that you saw If I know that you ain’t lying, you can sleep on the floorWell you’ll know when I am leaving if the morning stairs are creakingAnd the cushions are not on the floorAnd my scrawl upon your phone bill and a flower from your gardenSays I'm gone but please don't lock the doorWell you'll always be my mother and I'll always be your sonAnd though at times I've treated you badly As I've limped and hobbled on a borrowed pair of legsI found little other than the things you told me I'd see

SOVIET HOTEL DRESSING GOWNHer hands were colder than an unfired .38She kept a room somewhere in Notting Hill GateThe last one down the 2nd floor hallThere's a print by Brenda York on the kitchen wallAnd her neighbours rarely see herBut then they never really see themselvesShe’s quite polite, never causes a stirShe's got lots of Cohen vinyl stacked on some shelvesI remember enquiring about where she came from'til she posed dressed only in her shiny thigh highs"Don’t be asking me questions" she said "And I’ll tell you no lies" The blinds are always down, or at least the curtains are drawn Her closet’s full of clothes, some of which she’s never wornThere's a skirt that was hand-stitched in Cape TownAnd a Soviet Hotel Dressing GownHer head is always turned, when pictures are takenAnd her hair style never stays the sameHer roots she has so long forsakenAnd it’s always fashion that takes the blameMost times my curiosity would be met with the same reply“If you don't ask me questions, why would I tell you lies”There’s a sundial in her lounge on a wedding kistThat’s right at least twice a dayShe wears a watch on the bottom of her left wrist Like a night nurse waiting for the break of dayShe has a tattoo in a place that mostly only lovers seeThere’s a burn mark on her breast she got at SicilyIt shaped like a tumbler in free fallAfter a while you don’t notice it at allI was trying to find out her favourite song, 'til she said “all musos must die”"Don’t be asking me questions and I will tell you no lies”

The Ballad Of Vellum PageA solitary 6 x 4 by 8 foot high12 hours of digging and picking at the groundWith the taste and view of sand and the burning skyWhat's left of my hair is bleached, my skin is brownedAnd there's no-one to help me out of thisAnd though your picture is faded, I still long for your kissIt's not a question of being in the shitIt just about the depth thereofThe first three months I spent my currency bit by bit I spent next nine trying to avoid loveI sit by night working on my slaves planWith cell made candles and a vellum pageExchanging cigarettes for answers, just to find out what canCan't wait fore the heavens to open up this cageThere’s no-one who cares knows where I am So how are they gonna help me?But I will be home soonI know you're waiting for meWell the providence of escape is one thing, but I had to take a lifeThough it will never balance out the frameBy those in the know, who've kept me from my wife,But could not ever put out this flame Too many miles, 3 boats and one relationshipI'll see you at the place we first metIf anyone asks love, don't you mention my call‘Cause this is not over yet